Celebreality
It was only a matter of time before some bright corporate type stole the idea of recent tax policy to use as its marketing strategy.
Why should Congress and the White House have a monopoly on giving free things to folks who do not need free things? (For an example of what Congress likes to do, note that in 2005, over 56% of long-term capital gains in the United States were reported by those with adjusted gross income of over $1,000,000 per year. Remember that when the notion of capital gains taxes comes up.)
Today, the local broadsheet talks about the success of a high-end stroller company. And guess how they made their mark?
They ... [hired] a New York public relations firm that works with makers of baby products. The firm included the Vista stroller in a temporary private showroom it set up in a Beverly Hills hotel. The firm invited celebrities to troop through and request the products they liked—which they'd receive free, compliments of the company.
The result was the opportunity to "gift" UppaBaby strollers to actresses like Brooke Shields, Tori Spelling, and Denise Richards. (Ben Affleck and Tom Brady have also received strollers from the company, gratis.)
"We realized it was a big spend on public relations," Lauren says, "but we think you get a lot more bang for the buck from PR than marketing. It can cost $60,000 to put a one-page ad into a parenting magazine for just one month."
Paparazzi photos of celebrity moms using the strollers, it turned out, had even more impact than print advertising.
"If you get a picture of a celebrity pushing your stroller into the tabloids, it's amazing how many people will run out and buy it," says Janet McLaughlin, publisher of the website StrollerQueen.com. "That's like gold."
Good grief. It's bad enough that these strollers cost about the same as an Apple computer. If they really were worth $600 apiece, would the company need to fool its consumers into thinking that their favorite celebrities actually bought them?
Labels: celebrities, strollers, stupid corporate tricks
